The present disclosure generally relates to a drive assembly for a wire feed station. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a drive assembly that includes a single drive motor coupled to first and second feed wheels of the wire feed station through a pair of drive shafts and multiple flexible couplings.
A wire feed station of a wire processing system draws a supply of wire from a spool, barrel or wire pre-feeder for processing within the system. Typically, the wire feed station includes opposing wheels or belts that are forced against each other to create a feed nip to pull the wire from a supply source. In one configuration, the opposing feed wheels or belts are driven by independent drive motors. Each drive motor is coupled to one of the feed wheels to create the rotation of the feed wheels. Such system thus includes two relatively expensive drive motors.
In other available wire feed stations, the drive assembly includes a single drive motor that is coupled to wheels or belts through a serpentine belt arrangement or a gear arrangement. The serpentine belt or gear arrangement allows the feed wheels to move relative to each other. The serpentine belt or gear arrangement increases the cost and complexity of the drive assembly.
Although currently available wire feed stations function accurately to draw a supply of wire into the wire processing system, the wire feed stations are typically complex and require a relatively large amount of equipment. It is desirable to reduce the complexity of the wire feed station while allowing the wire feed station to accurately and reliably draw wire into the wire processing system.